iPli^ 'WW& 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

WtW — — 
i|a{t» ®tc|^tMi Ifo— ... ... 

Shelf ..5A/JL+ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



UPS 



JUH 4 1866 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 



— BY— 



John Grosvenor Wilson. 




NEW YORK : 

CAXTON BOOK CONCERN, Limited. 

188G. 






Copyright, 1886, 

BY 

JOHN G. WILSON. 



TO LILLAH. 

Dearest, to thee I dedicate the fruit 

Of loving labor all inspired by thee, 
Thine were the hands that planted at the root, 

To thee belongs the blossom of the tree. 
If haply men find some small portion sweet, 

Worthy to hold their hearts a little space, 
Then will the task be not all incomplete, 

And my delight will be to see thy face 
Smile with unselfish joy, and my regret 

That in such weak, imperfect song as mine 
Scant meed of praise can come to thee — and yet 

I could not fashion thee a worthy shrine, 
Nor yield thee full, fair honor thd my pen 
Thrilled with all power known to gods and rru n. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

An American Ode, . 1 

Reconciliation, 8 

Decoration Day, 11 

Chicago, . .15 

Sir Philip, 18 

Midwinter, 21 

Ballad op Love's Grief, 25 

Dance op the Fairies, .... 28 

Apollo and Daphne, 31 

Song of the Wind, ,.,.... 35 

The Legend of Vineta (From " Nordeck "), . • 40 

The Grand Salute, . . . . . 42 

To a Baby, . . . . ... 47 

In Rosamond's Bower, . . . . . .51 

Jarl Eric's Daughter, ...... 57 

Two Rondels : 

1. Marc Antony, 63 

2. Cosur-de-Lion, G4 

Circe, 66 

The Poet to the Philistine, 69 

A Modern Benedick : 

Prologue, 77 

The First Meeting, 79 

The Love-Letter, 81 

Accepted, 83 

Absence, 85 

The Engagement Ring, . 86 

Courtship Days, 89 



VI CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Marriage Eve, 91 

Marriage Morning, 92 

Epilogue, ........ 94 

Echoes of Eld : 

Excalibur, 99 

Sir Pal amides, 104 

Morgain, 110 

Sir Boris, . . . . . . . . 122 

Ballad of Sir Launcelot, . . . . .128 

isolt at the tomb of tristram, . . . 131 

The Death of Guinevere, 135 

Etchings : 

Cassius, 143 

A Rainy Day in Town, 145 

The Sentinel, ....... 147 

Orpheus, 149 

L'Enfant Terrible, 151 

Personal Tributes : 

To Clara Morris, . 155 

To Alfred Tennyson, . . , . . 157 
To Algernon Charles Swinburne, . . .159 

To Frank Mayo, . . . . . . 161 

To William Young, .163 

ToE. B., ■ . . 165 

The Human Quest : 

Prelude, 169 

Despair, . . 171 

Afar, 173 

Imperfection, . . . . . . . 175 

If, . . . 177 

Discontent, ....... 179 

A Dream, i' 181 

Hope, 183 

Ad Astra, 185 



^ri@g 



© 



f me. 



AN AMERICAN ODE. 

T~N the very blackest night 

Toiled the peoples, worn and weary ; 
Blind, they sought the healing light, 
Bowed beneath a burden dreary — 
When a gallant seaman sailed 
Forth, in search of lands unhailed. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Hope and Courage rigged his spars, 
Genius winged him for the quest, 

New-born science of the stars 
Led him ever straightly west, 
Till, before all eyes intent, 
Lo, the new-found Continent! 

Then the human rivers rolled, 

Some in gladness, some in tears, 

Puritans of sternest mould, 

High-born brilliant cavaliers, 
Filled with valiant d£ep unrest- 
Flower of England's sturdiest. 

Frenchmen waved their oriflamme, 
Stately Senors sailed from Spain, 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 

Sober men of Amsterdam 

Swelled the universal strain, — 
u Shores redeemed from isolation 
Be the cradle of a Nation!" 

Years of childhood come and go, 
Lo, the lusty, youthful giant 

Feels the blood of manhood glow, 
Leaps erect with shout defiant ! 
Vague delight the peoples stirred— 
Kings and priests affrighted heard- 

Heard the guns of Lexington! 

Heard the cannons' deadly roar ! 
Many moons waxed full and shone 

Crimson in tho blaze of war. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 

On the virgin continent 
Freedom pitched her ample tent ; 

Called, and waved her snowy wand, 
Open flew the airy portals — 

Ah! the plains that stretched beyond, 
Canaan for all toiling mortals ; 
Sweet the summons, clear the voice, 
u Happy world, rejoice, rejoice!" 

Swiftly speed the pregnant years, 
Comes the virile age of steam, 

Axes bright of pioneers 

Through the falling forests gleam- 
Ever westward with the sun 
Still the human rivers run. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. £ 

From the German Fatherland, 

From the Green Isle's mournful dales, 

From the Scandinavian strand, 
From Italia' s ancient vales, 
Haste they to the larger life 
Eager for the splendid strife. 

But a sudden, sombre shock 

Makes the very heavens rattle ! 

Freedom's symbols reel and rock 
In the whirlwind of the battle ! 
Vague affright the peoples stirred — 
Kings and priests delighted heard — 

Heard the guns of Sumter boom ! 

Heard the vows of peace derided ! 



■ LYRICS OF LIFE. 

War's huge death's-head through the gloom 
Grinned upon a land divided — 
Life in death, or death in life, 
O Republic, thine the strife ! 

But the last sad fight is fought, 

Freedom still maintains her sway, 

Southern valor goes for naught, 

Yet — O rapture ! — strange to say — 
They, the vanquished, from defeat 
Pluck the fruits of victory sweet. 

For in wild Atlantic breeze 

See the blowing banners curled ! 

By the far Pacific seas, 

Mark the blended stars unfurled ! 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 

While between, a giant band, 
Mighty States clasp hand in hand. 

Hand in hand, in union blent, 

Making one great royal Nation! 
Single as the firmament, 

Set supreme in sovereign station ! 

Law's upholder! Freedom's home! 

Of the world the glorious dome ! 

On Republic ! strive, nor pause, 

Freedom guard in all thy lands, 

Such as seek to wreck thy laws 
Crush with thy majestic hands — 
And thy future thou shalt find 
Bright with hope for all mankind. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 



O 



EECONCILIATION. 

VOICE of the people, now thunder 

For brotherly love ; 
O freemen, forever tread under 

Your hate, rise above 
The promptings of greed and of malice, 

Declare to the world, — 
"Behold we have drained the red chalice 

And down it is hurled!" 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 9 

O victors, cry out to the conquered, — 

"The fight has been fought, 
The Union is safe and fast anchored, 

Fair Freedom is wrought, 
And, brother, the old love is strengthened, 

Thy blood is our own, 
Together our days shall be lengthened, 

And peace shall be known." 

Hark, hark, from the Southland the murmur 

Of Industry's horde ; 
The hammer and plow they grasp firmer 

Than ever the sword ; 
See ! white men and black men as neighbors, 

All lending a hand, 
As Hercules toiled at his labors, 

Transforming the land. 



10 LYUICS OF LIFE. 

And South winds, and winds of Atlantic, 

And winds of the West, 
Blow only one flag, one gigantic 

Free flag that is blest ; 
Its stars are the stars of the morning, 

Its stripes are the rays 
That herald the day that is dawning — 

The sun that shall blaze. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 11 



DECORATION DAY. 

"VTTHERE marbles and mounds lie together 

On hillside and dale, 
The glow of the bright, breezy weather 

Folds all in a veil 
Of sunshine and sweet summer gladness, 

Undimmed by the rain, 
Unknown of the shadow of sadness, 

The pallor of pain. 



12 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

The voice of the wind, as it passes, 

Makes musical hum ; 
But hark ! through the rustle of grasses 

The beat of the drum — 
A sob, and a low voice that trembles, 

A down-drooping head, 
The morning of Maytime dissembles, 

We meet by the dead. 

We meet where the captains of cannon 

Lie under the trees 
With those that flew banner and pennon 

O'er rivers and seas, 
We stand by the graves of our brothers, 

O valorous host ! 
On some lie the laurels, on others 

The willows are crost. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 13 

But all are as one in their ending, 

No sound of the strife 
Comes up from the dust that is blending 

To fashion the life 
Of grasses, and sweet-scented briers, 

And deep -tinted blooms 
That burn out their delicate fires 

By numberless tombs. 

The maiden who mourns for her lover. 

Or friend for his friend, 
Learns here that the battles are over, 

That this is the end ; 
And mothers, who meet in their weeping, 

With quivering mouth 
Ask not if their sons that are sleeping 

Came Northward or South. 



14 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

O gracious and glorified hours ! 

We gather to-day 
To girdle and garland with flowers 

Our Blue and our Gray ; 
We kneel by the green graves that blend us 

In brotherly peace, 
To pray that affection attend us, 

That hatred may cease. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 15 



O 



CHICAGO. 

N the shore of the Monarch of Lakes 

Rise column, and dome, and spire, 
And the light of the morning breaks 

On the City of Wind and Fire ! 
With the speed of the wind uprisen, 

With the strength of fire she stands, 
And her fingers of iron imprison 

The wealth of a world in her hands. 



16 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

In her towers and turrets of stone 

She is strong, and her walls of brick — 
Yet her resolute builders have known 

The day when the flame rolled thick r 
When fled as a dream was her glory 

And round her the smoke-clouds curled, 
And with wonder and weeping her story 

Was writ in the heart of the world. 

But the tokens and treasures of love 

Came to her from all mankind. 
With the smoke of the wrack yet above 

They came, and the self-same wind 
That rolled the fire over her beauty 

Blew message of comfort and light, 
And she rose from the dust to her duty, 

Renewed and refreshed for the fight. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 17 

They are gone, the dark days of despair, 

She is bright in her new-born fame, 
And she filleth the wide world's air 

With the glory and growth of her name. 
About her the great States cluster, 

That breathe in her nostrils life, 
That clothe her with joy and luster 

And strength for the giant strife. 

Lo, from street, and from crowded mart, 

The music of progress rings, 
And her citizens, great of heart, 

Are of commerce the lords and kings ; 
O, from her no years shall dissever 

The well- won crown of the West, 
For the light that endure th forever 

Upon lier doth rise and rest. 



1883. 



18 LYRICS Otf LIFE. 



SIR PHILIP, 

/^\NE morn the prairie reached afar, 
A sea of golden harvest fields, 
It was the hour when twilight yields 
Her misty mail of moon and star. 

light rosy clouds sailed far away, 

The dewy corn just faintly stirred, 
And here and there some waking bird 

Piped out his little roundelay. 

Adown the level country road 

A gentle wind did scarcely blow, 
And all was very still, when lo, 

Came Philip with his market-load. 



LYBICS OF LIFE. 19 

He eyed the farm-house o'er and o'er, 
And thought of her who slept within : 
Prom such light chance doth love begin, 

Haply forever to endure* 

And as he rubbed his sunburnt brow 
The imp that round each lover flits, 
To warm his heart and fire his wits, 

Said slily, — "Let her hear you now." 

Beneath her window did he stand, 
Gallant as errant knight of old, 
Though on his breast there gleamed no gold, 

Nor lance nor sabre in his hand. 

He sang an old familiar song, 

Of simple words and simple strain, 
Half- sad, half -glad the low refrain, 

Perchance the notes were something wrong; 



20 LYBICS 0$ LW& 

He heard her window softly slide, 
He saw her sleep-bewildered eyes, 
He caught her look of shy surprise. 

Her gesture marked with pretty pride, 

And off he ran. The kindling morn 

Lit more and more the laughing land, 
Small happy breezes hand-in-hand 

Went chattering o'er the billowy corn. 

Ah, ever blooms the old romance, 

In wood, or wild, or western plain, 
As under stately groves of Spain, 

Or in the sunny fields of France, 

O Youth and Lore ! Love and Youth ! 

Twin suns that light the wastes of Time! 

You put to blush the cynic 9 s rhyme, 
You are the sweet eternal truth, 



LY&ICS OF hlF&* 21 



I 



MIDWINTER. 

CICLES hang 
Where Summer sang,, 
The north- winds clang 

From frozen lands • 
O'er hill and valley, 
Down wind-swept alley, 
The storm-clouds sally 

In wliirliiiii; bands. 



22 lyrics of life* 

Farm-house and field, 
Alike concealed, 
Beneath the shield 

Of Winter lie; 
The world, snow-sheete „, 
As one defeated, 
A queen unseated, 

Makes mournful cry. 

The short day dies, 
No stars arise 
In serried skies 

That shake with snow, 
The rough wind whistles 
And hurls his missiles 
Where keen ice bristles 

On rocks below. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 23 

On rocks that reach 
Above the beach, 
Where sit and screech 

The gulls at night, 
By waves foam-fretted, 
With sea-weed netted, 
Their sharp teeth whetted 

For dark sea-fight. 

But winds may roll 
O'er sound and shoal, 
And cheek by jowl 

The storm-kings ride, 
Men meet together, 
Despite the weather, 
Though fierce flakes feather 

The roaring tide. 



24 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

In happy homes, 
When darkness gloams, 
The beaker foams, 

The feast is laid, 
Bright fires are lighted, 
Sweet troths are plighted^ 
Fond hearts united 

Of youth and maid. 

And on lone heights 
The beacon-lights 
Burn bright o' nights 

For ships at sea, 
Though warring Winter 
May smite and splinter, 
Or ice-peaks glint, or 

The snows fall free. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 25 



BALLAD OF LOVE'S GRIEF. 

A MAIDEN sits with idle ball and skein, 
The clock's long pendulum swings to 
and fro, 
The blazoned light of day grows dim with rain, 
With rain that turns to sleet, and sleet to 
snow ; 
But still she sits and watches, singing low, 
Her voice as clear as birds' when dawn 
appears, 
" Dearest, why break your vows and leave 
me so? 
The smiles of Love are fewer than the 
tears." 



26 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

A mother kneels with tortured heart and brain, 

She hears her baby's breath come hard and 
slow, 
And, bending, clasps the wasted face again, 

The little lips make piteous dumb-show 
And all is over — save the useless woe, 

The mother's plaint that some sad listener 
hears,- — 
"Ah, little life, flown fast that I may know 

The smiles of Love are fewer than the tears." 

An old dame looketh thro' the window-pane 

To where the village churchyard sleeps below ; 
Alone, she croons a half-forgotten strain 

That, as in dreams, recalls the long-ago ; 
A dreary song, that makes the salt drops flow, 

That rouses memory, dead to hopes or fears, 
"Ah, life thro' which the bitter breezes blow, 

The smiles of Love are fewer than the tears." 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 27 

EKVOY. 

Day springs from night, from mold the roses 
grow, 
From hearts of fire are formed the tranquil 
spheres, 
Therefore put trust in recompense, although 
The smiles of Love are fewer than the tears. 



28 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



DANCE OF THE FAIRIES. 

~YTTHO are these that gather in the green 

* v moonshine 

Round the sleeping rose-tree and the rose- 
tree vine, 
By the folden lily and the scarlet bloom, 
Frightening the cuckoo in the leafy gloom ? 
See, they dance, dance, dance, 
And the trance 
Of a wild enchantment creepeth 
O'er the rose-tree as it sleepeth, 
And they sway, sway, sway ; 
For the day is far away, 
For the night is not yet over, 
And each flying fairy lover 
Hears the ringing joyous measure 
As he dances, dances, dances, 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 29 

Thinking, — "What is life but pleasure 
And a happy lover's fancies?" 

And the green leaves bending with the trip- 
ping feet 
Hear the far-off answer ringing clear and 

sweet, 
Water-fays are dancing on the singing waves, 
Merry elves are dancing in the green sear 
caves ; 
See, they dance, dance, dance, 
And the glance 
Of the moon upon them falleth, 
Thro' the wreathing spray she calleth 

And they sway, sway, sway ; 
But they hear her voice and listen, 
And they shimmer and they glisten 
In the splendor of the spray 
As they dance, dance, dance, 
To the music of the kobold 
Who from out his den has hobbled, 
With a sea-shell at his mouth, 



30 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

And a wind from off the south, 
He is blowing, blowing, blowing, 
And the summer-night is going, 
But they dance, dance, dance, dance, 
Dance it away. 

From the forest flitting out the elfin bands 
Meet the sea-fays dancing on the moon-lit 

sands, 
Joining hands they revel thro 7 the joyous 

night 
In the green light of the moon and the faint 
starlight ; 
See, they dance, dance, dance, 
And the lance 
Of the red star breaks upon them 
And the dew is shining on them 

As they sway, sway, sway ; 
Careless now of whence or whither, 
Skipping hither, skipping thither, 
In the night that soon must wither, 
Die, and fade away. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 31 



APOLLO AND DAPHNE. 

TT^VE o'er the sacred vale — in joyous mood 
m *-*^ Apollo, fresh from war with Python, trod 
The flowery sward, and from his shoulder slid 
The quiver, and the bow fell from his hand, 
Whereat he seized his silver lyre and sang 
Of Love, the lord and god of gods and men. 

So journeying, he marked where Daphne lay 
Hot from the chase — her sandals laid aside 
From the bright -veined, small, slender, supple 

feet ; 
Her tunic opened to the welcome wind 
That softly stirred the folds and half-displayed 
The lilies and the roses of her breast 
Immaculate — thus lay she, aimlessly 
Twisting her golden hair about her head, 



32 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

So perfect-sweet that, struck with swift desire, 
The god made straight toward her, saying 

fast: 
"O love, thy love is more than victory! 
I lay my crown of conquest at thy feet — 
Thy name shall tremble on my harp until 
Olympus' gates are closed!' 5 



But as the fawn 
Starts and takes flight at baying of the hounds, 
So Daphne ran, her lithe limbs fleet with 

fear — 
Sandalless, yet incredibly swift she fled, 
And he pursued — but, mortal, none could 

match 
Apollo's speed— till, panting, worn, she sank 
Beside the stream Peneus, silver-waved, 
And called to him who dwelt therein : " O 

thou, 
My father, shield me from Apollo's love!" 
For lo, the god stretched eager arms to her. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 33 

He leaned above her, that his eyes might take 
Foreknowledge, and he laughed right lordlily — 
But as he gazed she paled and shrank, and 

seemed 
A thing of mist — the river flnng fierce foam 
Upon her — from the thickets flew the birds 
And hovered o'er her, motionless and mute. 
Then from the mist, the cloud, upon the sward, 
Tall, slender, stretching heavenward, uprose 
A tree unlike all others, and the god 
Groaned as he knew the maiden changed and 

lost. 



And from the river rose a solemn voice, 
Hollow, as is the murmur of a shell : 
" O thou, who hast won glory for all time, 
Fixed and eternal as the changeless stars, 
Hast thou not learned that love is not to 

force ? 
Love is a shadow's shadow—love is fine 
As Summer wind, and subtle as the film 



34 LYKICS OF LIFE. 

Spun by a spider on a rose's thorns, 

That hands can scarcely touch, or eyes behold. 

Wield thou the warrior's sword, strike harp 

of song, 
But rest content with these — relinquish love 
To hearts that yearn, that thirst for naught 

beside, 
Content to watch in humbleness, to spend 
Immortal years in wooing." 

So the voice 
Spake, and Apollo moaned disconsolate, 
Casting his arms in vain about the tree. 
A low wind smote the leaves and stirred 

the boughs 
To plaintive rustlings, and the red sun set, 
Wherefore the sky was dim, till scattered 

stars 
Made light, and winged-foot Mercury leapt 

forth, 
Pointing his wand across the silent world. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 35 



SONG OF THE WIND. 

TT1ROM the far frozen 
Plains, that are closen 
Ever, and chosen 

Only of snow-clouds, 
From that waste war land 
Known as the Nor' land, 
Round the bleak foreland 

Ride I the low clouds. 



36 LYUICS OF LIFE. 

Fleet as the hour 
Speed is my dower, 
I am the power 

The spirit of motion; 
Hark ! the beginning ! 
Space for the winning! 
All with me spinning, 



Earth, island, and ocean. 



Ho, for the journey ! 
Clang, O ye horny 
Peaks ! the wild tourney 

Of tempests unravel, 
Who then shall bind me, 
Bruise me, or blind me, 
Yea, or shall find me, 

As tireless I travel % 



LYRICS OF LIFE. o7 

Where the wave flashes, 
Where the spray dashes, 
Where the sea clashes 

Her cymbals, foam-hidden, 
Filled with the moonlight, 
Thrilled with the noon-light, 
Winter and June light, 

Roam I unchidden. 

When the thick-lying 
Forests are sighing, 
Through the boughs flying 

I bear their assurance 
Out to the arid 
Sands that have tarried, 
Harassed and harried, 

Worn w;ui with endurance. 



38 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

When the skies thunder, 
Riven asunder, 
Rush I on under 

The lightning's long arrows, 
Howling and hurling, 
Cracking and curling, 
Whistling and whirling 

Down rivers and narrows. 

Then, the storm ended, 
Rain and earth blended, 
Lo, unattended, 

In Summer's sweet season 
I slip down some alley, 
N Or wild woodland valley 
Where red robins rally 

To wrangle and reason, 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 39 

Or with low whirring 
Speed I unerring, 
Tenderly stirring 

The leaves of green covers, 
To blend in my flying 
With vows and denying 
And amorous sighing 



Of light-hearted lovers. 



40 LYKICS OF LIB'E. 



THE LEGEND OP VINETA. 

(From the Drama of "Nordeclc") 

/^\ CITY sunk forever, 

Vineta ! — yet of thee 
The spectre glows and glistens 
Above the foamy sea. 

Wherefore thy doom was spoken 
No mortal tongue can tell, 

But from thy grave of billows 

Thy phantom weaves a spell. 

For if on thee, together, 

A youth and maiden gaze, 

Their fates are twined forever, 

Howe'er may trend their ways. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 41 

Eftsoons they love, but sorrow 

Pursues their hearts' sad quest, 

Unless again, together, 

On thee their eyes may rest. 

Then rise once more, Vineta ! 

Appear to those that wait ! 
And Love, made lord and master, 

Shall break the bonds of Fate. 



42 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



THE GRAND SALUTE. 

rTlWO hundred busy years ago, 

One morn in sweet September, 
As fair and fresh a day did blow 
As any can remember. 

The town of Kelderheif was filled 
With merry noise and bustle, 

Nor whirr of work nor hum of guild 
Was heard in all the rustle. 

For to the town a mighty man — 
The Duke of Bragabenna — 

Was coming, by the road that ran 
From far-away Vienna. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 43 

Up rode his shining cavalcade 

With nodding plumes and tassels, 

And priest and baron, man and maid, 
Were each and all his vassals. 

The city gates swung open wide, 

And, as the Duke rode under, 

The guns that stood on either side 

Roared out their greeting thunder. 

So gay the town, the Duke rose up, 
And in his stirrups standing,— 

"Now bring," said he, u a brimming cup 
While this we are commanding. 

"Each Michaelmas, come sun or rain, 

In honor of our visit, 
The same salute shall fire again, 

And, that ye shall not miss it, 



44 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

U A fund for this I here provide, 
A fund to last forever!" 

He drained the cup and, laughing, cried,- 
"Tll be forgotten never!" 

Ah, happy hope of many men, 

What would ye do without it? 

Ye toilers of the sword and pen 
Who daily dream about it ; 

Who sigh for fame, who die for fame, 
And after all what is it ? 

The roaring of a ducal name 
Upon a ducal visit. 

Two hundred busy years have fled — 
And now the quaint old city 

Drones out its life, unsung, unsaid, 
Save in some random ditty. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 45 

The whirling wheels of modern life 
Roll on the distant highway, 

The famous road of Kelderheif 
Is but a pleasant by-way. 

But every year come Michaelmas 
Awakes an ancient gunner, 

In crimson cap and bright cuirass 
Arrayed in martial manner. 

With stately mien the loud salute 
He fires across the meadows, 

The daws stop pecking at the fruit 
And gain the oak-tree shadows. 

The grazing cattle roll their eyes 

In drowsy meditation, 
The gray-haired shepherd coughs, and 
cries, 

"Ah, what a noisy nation 1" 



46 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Till in the Autumn haze the smoke 
Grows every moment thinner, 

And flitting from the friendly oak 
The daws resume their -dinner. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 47 



TO A BABY. 

/~\ LITTLE stranger, lately come 
From out the misty region, 
Now speak, before your head shall hum 

With science and religion, 
And tell us whence and what you are, 

And how we all appear — 
Don't roll your eyes and stare afar, 
Pretending not to hear. 



48 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

You lie so still, and roll your eyes, 

Perhaps you were forbidden 
To talk at all, you look so wise 

That something must be hidden; 
Come, baby, let the secrets out 

That all the world would know, 
And quell at once the winds of doubt 

That round about us blow. 

A rumor runneth far and fast 

As to our constitution, 
That from an unknown protoplast 

We've grown by evolution ; 
Now, baby dear, if you would do 

A service to your race, 
Say what is false and what is true — 

And don't contort your face. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 49 

There — now you are at peace again. 

No doubt you were astounded 
To find a world of grown-up men 

Half-witted and confounded. 
You look so solemn — Ah, perchance 

Some other tongue you speak, 
Conned over in eternal trance, 

More fluent than the Greek. 

A language born of singing stars' 

Melodious communion 
In space serene, where nothing mars 

The peace and perfect union ; 
Ah, baby dear, if strains so sweet 

Yet echo in your ears 
'Twere best if Time were not so fleet 

In counting up your years. 



50 LYKIOS OF LIFE. 

For you will fret, and fume, and fuss, 

Grow lean, or haply fatten, 
And be just like the rest of us 

With all your lore forgotten. 
Come, tell us of the mysteries. 

You listen, but are dumb. 
You will but roll your elfin eyes 

And suck your dainty thumb. 






LYRICS OF LIFE. 51 



IN ROSAMOND'S BOWER. 



SHE. 



PLEASANT noon 



A 

Of flowered June, 



In sweet attune 

All forest sounds , 
Pray, sir, a boon, 
Weave us a rune 
While last night's moon 

Still flies the hounds. 



52 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



HE. 



When ladies pray 
Men must obey, 
There is no "nay" 

To ladies' prayers, 
So have your way, 
We'll sing to-day 
A mournful lay 

Of old affairs. 

SHE. 

Yon moon last night 
Was filled with light, 
Now wan and white 

She runs her journey, 
As faded quite 
In all men's sight 
As storied knight 

Of tilt or tourney. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 53 

HE. 

So all things fade 
In Time's gray shade, 
This very glade 

Hath seen the day 
When, half-afraid, 
With silken aid, 
To woo a maid 

A King found way. 

Ah, frail and fond 
Fair Rosamond ! 
You spun a bond 

For royal lover ; 
A silken wand 
It wound beyond 
Thro' ferny frond 

Of copse and cover. 



54 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Forgotten e'en 
The jealous Queen 
When you did lean 

With whispered greeting ; 
The leafy screen 
Took on a sheen 
Like rose-lights seen 

At fairy meeting. 

Alas; alas ! 

Such days must pass ; 

Fate holds the glass 

That runs for lovers, 
Swift to harass 
As winds that mass 
From swampy grass 

Where poison hovers. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 55 

Fate, cold and gray, 
Did Love betray — 
By Love's own way 

The Queen sped thither, 
With lips to say 
Despair, dismay, 
With hands to slay 

And eyes to wither. 

Revenge she bore 
To Love's sweet core, 
And all was o'er 

And Death was sated — 
O Eleanor! 
O fierce and frore I 
Forevermore 

Of all men hated. 



56 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

But thou shalt reign, 

fair one slain ! — 
Nor false disdain 

Shall keep thee lowly, 
Nor aught remain 
Of shame or stain, 
With perfect pain 

Of love made holy. 

SHE. 

A tangled knot, 
A mournful lot ; 

1 had forgot 

This tale illicit — 
The air grows hot, 
We'll leave this spot, 
My hand, sir — what ! 

You dare to kiss it? 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 57 






JAEL ERIC'S DAUGHTER. 

/\N Finland's waste and windy shore 
Jarl Eric Ibuilt a castle, 
And reared a massive Hall of War, 
Great oaken ship-beams for its floor, 
Huge rafters to ring back the roar 
Of mighty midnight wassail. 

No woman ever entered there 
Save Eric's only daughter, 
Sweet Gyda of the golden hair ; 



58 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Men sang her praises everywhere; 
Her eyes were bluer than the rare 
Deep blue of south-sea- water. 

And often when the dawn would creep 

O'er dim unfinished revel, 
Jarl Eric, nodding, half -asleep, 
Would mutter, — "She shall never weep, 
No man shall have her soul to keep 
An' be he god or devil." 

It chanced, one windy winter day, 
Jarl Eric from his doorway 

Looked seaward thro' the foam and spray 

And saw the clear cold sunlight play 

On seven ships in line array 

That flew the flag of Norway. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 59 

He looked and frowned, but did not see 
His daughter stand beside him, 

Until she cried,— " It is for me 

That Harald sails so fearlessly ; 

He comes to ask my hand of thee!" 
Quoth Eric,— "Woe betide him ! " 

In vain she wept, in vain she plead, 
He would but answer always, — 
"I swore a vow thou shouldst not wed." — • 
The ships wore round the harbor-head, — 
" Chain up the bridge!" — Jarl Eric said, — 
"Cross-bar the gates and hallways!" 

From every ship that shoreward drew 

A hundred men were landed ; 
Then Harald on his war-horn blew 



60 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

A blast that shook the morning dew, 
Afar the startled sea-gulls flew, 
And wind and echo blended. 

"I come for Gyda," Harald cried, 

u Jarl Eric, she doth love me!" 
Quoth Eric, — "An' to win your bride 
Ye needs must lord it far and wide 
Over my castle's pith and pride, 
By all the gods above me!" 

. They stormed the walls till day was dead 

And came the midnight hour, 
The watch-fires flared a fiery red 
That made the sky burn overhead 
When Gyda from her chamber fled 
And climbed the castle-tower. 



LYBICS OF LIFE. 61 

No moon above the sea did hang, 
But stars she counted seven ; 

Below, the horns of battle sang, 

And battle-axe on armor rang, 

And shield met shield with clash and clang 
That shook the arch of heaven. 

When Harald saw her standing there 

He cried, — "No walls shall hide thee! 
O sweet my love, so passing fair, 
The brightness of thy golden hair 
Shall make each jutting stone a stair 
Until I stand beside thee !" 

Then up he climbed the sheer ascent 

By stones and ledges narrow, 
Jarl Eric watched him as he went, 



62 LYKICS OF LIFE. 

And all stood still in wonderment 
And on their battle-axes leant 



Nor shot the whizzing arrow. 



A thousand times he seemed to fall, 

But, looking up to Gyda, 
He held his way, they heard her call, 
As, leaping o'er the topmost wall, 
He caught her hand, and, straight and tall, 

Stood merrily beside her. 

Quoth Eric, — "He hath won her fair, 

He lords it o'er the castle; 
Grod bless her gleaming golden hair, 
Nor may it whiten o'er with care; 
My broken vow must needs beware 

Of mighty marriage wassail." 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 63 



TWO RONDELS. 
1. 

MA EC ANTONY. 

A FAR the trumpets blow, 

They call, — "To arms! to arms!' 7 
Ah me, I cannot go, 

She holds me with strange charms. 

I hear . the shrill alarms — 

Her hands are white as snow — 
Afar the trumpets blow, 

They call, — " To arms! to arms!" 

Her speech is soft and slow, 

Her kiss jny cold mouth warms, 



(34 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Her eyes with languor glow — 
And so it be, what harms? 

Afar the trumpets blow, 

They call, — "To arms, to arms! 55 



% 



CCEUK-DE-LION. 

Sound, sound, a battle-charge ! 

Blow, horn ; and beat, O drum ! 
For see, along the marge 

The Moslem banners come. 

Hark ! hark ! the mighty hum — 
Yon crescent groweth large — 
Sound, sound, a battle-charge! 

Blow, horn ; and beat, O drum ! 



JLYRICS OF LIFE. 65 

Shout, — " Richard and Saint George!" 
Shout! shout! and strike 'em dumb! 

Crash battle-axe thro' targe 

Till fright their hearts benumb — 

Sound, sound, a battle-charge ! 

Blow, horn ; and beat, O drum ! 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 



CIRCE. 



T MARVEL at thy beauty, love, thy white 
**" Satin-smooth skin, thy exquisite round 
breast, 
Thy rose-red lips, that mine so oft have 
prest 
Faint with the strong delight. 

I gaze into thy gray, perplexing eyes, 
Dilated now with consciousness of me, 
Within their depths, far, far, within, I 
see 
Riotous forms arise. 

I whisper " Helen," and the fields of Troy 
Glitter before me with their shielded 

throng 
Of men that fight and make eternal 
song 
For one fair woman's joy. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 67 

I murmur "Hero/ 5 and the waves below 

Leap at the sound, as if again they bore 
Him that for one sweet kiss left light and 
shore 
To tempt the tide's dark flow. 

And Phryne's name slips like a soft caress 
Thro' my enchanted brain ; I see again 
That grave assemblage of gray-bearded men 
Stunned #t sheer loveliness. 

These are thyself, and yet to thee are thrall, 
For love was never known till thou wert 

born ; 
I dreamt of it, till thou didst come one 
morn, — 
Therewith I knew it all. 

Knew, and inhaled the perfume of thy mouth, 
O subtler scent than of all roses slain ! 
That fell on me as an abundant rain 
Falls on the fervent south. 



&S: LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Knew, and made fast my hands about thy 
waist, 
And felt my bright blood beat from feet 

to brow, 
And kissed thee in the throat, as I do now, 
As thus with thee enlaced. 

Turn, if thou wilt, still will I look at thee ; 
If thou dost hide thy face,* I watch thy hair 
Twist at my breath into a golden snare 
That doth entangle me. 

kiss me into silence! shall I sing 

When thou art here to drink my life 

away ? — 
O fire of Love ! gone are the night and 
day, 
Forgotten everything ! 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 69 



THE POET TO THE PHILISTINE. 

npHE creature of a thousand moods 

That lift him to the highest heights 
Or plunge him to the deepest deeps, 
He lives his life, awakes, and sleeps, 
Is jocund now with thee, or broods 

Alone, while flesh with spirit fights. 

Thou deemest him a crazy loon, 

Thy daughters hold him pitiful ; 



70 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

What room in the rude, roar of life, 
The clash of trade and party strife, 
For his wild ballad to the moon 
Or rhyme of lovers mythical? 

Knight dauntless he in Freedom's lists 
With fiery lance of eloquence ; 
In clear and clarion voice he calls, 
And waits for answer — on him falls 

Thy smiling sneer at theorists, 
Thy scorn of callow innocence. 

When with free hand he scatters wide 
Such coin as comes to minstrelsy, 
Sweet laughter lieth in his eye, — 
In holy horror thou dost cry, — 
" Spendthrift !"— but O, thou wear'st with pride 
Thy warm, sleek suit of usury. 






LYRICS OF LIFE. 71 

A ring of fire, a ring of ice, 

The cruel chaplet binds his head ; 
Thou thinkest to defray thy debt 
To him with laurel leaves, and yet 

His gentle art will not suffice 

To earn for him his daily bread. 

But O, poor dullard, clogged with gold, 

His life to thine is king to slave, 

The bright blood bounding in his veins 

"Would rack thy heart with aches and 
pains, 
The mysteries to him unrolled 

Would drive thee, shrinking, to thy grave. 

For he, as Homer, calls to life 

Heroes and gods, a deathless band ; 
As Dante, delves for truth in dream ; 
As Shakspeare, finds the force supreme : 



72 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

As Goethe, calms eternal strife ; 

As Hugo, leads to love his land. 

He hears the song that sings the sea, 
He trills a duo with the lark, 
He listens to the sonorous chant 
Of peaks with storm made resonant ; 

Thou thinkest all is still, but he 

With keener instinct crieth, — u Hark!" 

For him the myriad flowers bloom 

With brighter hues and sweeter scent 
Than for another; for him rise 
New constellations in the skies — 

Where thou perceivest only gloom 
He scans a radiant firmament. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 73 

He maketh virtue beautiful, 

With beauty charms and conquers vice ; 

Thou canst not understand, nor know 

Why God hath made his like — for, lo, 
His song the grief of hell can lull 

And make more joy in Paradise. 



T 

v!l llloetsm KtemedidK. 





od&m i3ane>die&. 



PROLOGUE. 

f~\ DREARY discussion of marriage and 
^-^ money ! 

useless debate of self-evident truth ! 
Certain it is that the milk and the honey 

Of life are the guerdon of bachelor youth. 

I am quite satisfied — just five-and-twenty, 
Modestly making a station in life ; 

Fond of society, pleasure, and plenty — 
How would it be if I took me a wife? 

O venomous visions of butchers and bakers ! — 
O fearful forebodings of milliners' bills ! — 



78 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Rather at once would I join with the 
Shakers, 
Vowed and devoted and shielded from ills. 

Heaven be praised that endowed me with 
reason ! 
I smile at the ravings of poets and 
fools ; 
Never a girl shall convict me of treason 
To these, my judicious and sensible rules. 

Old folks may maunder of days departed 
When youths went courting of shy sweet 
maids, 

Now we but flirt in a gay, light-hearted 
Fashion, and only a dunce "upbraids. 

O, I am armed! and from Cupid's quiver 
Never an arrow on me shall fall ; 

Why, the mere thought of it makes me 
shiver — 
But I must be off to the Charity Ball. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 79 



THE FIRST MEETING. 

rs this I, the unbeliever \ 
Is the ball still going on ? 
Or am I my own deceiver, 
Shall I find myself anon % 

Thro' the charming mimic thunder 
Of the strains of William Tell — 

O, the rapture ! O, the wonder ! — 
Rang her low voice like a bell. 

And I looked — it seemed for hours — 
She was standing by a vase 

Filled with rare and splendid flowers 
That enframed her flower like face. 



80 LYKICS OF LIFE. 

Underneath lier eye-brows even 
Shot a glance that fell on me, 

And the ball-room was a Heaven, 
William Tell a jubilee. 

Vain my maxims ! Yain resistance ! — 
O, her eyes, that smile and shine !- 

Will she keep me at a distance % 
Dare I think to call her mine? 



cc 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 
II. 

THE LOVE-LETTER, 

T OVE me little, love me long" 

Ran the ancient poet' s rhyme ; 
Tame the thought that bred the song, 

Love, my darling, knows not time- 
Love me, wilt thou, for a year? 

I will seek no more than this, 
Centuries of hope and fear 

Can be counted in a kiss. 

If thou wilt not, then, O sweet, 
Love me for a single season, 

In some flowery far retreat 

Lost to sight or sound or reason. 



81 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Ah, too much I ask of thee, 

Love me, dearest, for a week; 

Seven days, wherein to be 

Lord of joy — but speak, love, speak; 

For a moment, then, as fleet 

As the flight of light above me, 

Time for hands and lips to meet— 
Ah, but, darling, love me, love me! 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 83 

III. 

ACCEPTED. 

"TTTAS the wide world cold to thee, love? 
Did the starry skies seem cold ? 
Why, the winter world to me, love, 

Burnt bright with the flame of old. 

But I wandered with thee mute, love, 
For fear in my heart was strong 

That hopeless would be my suit, love, 
But, darling, I read thee wrong. 

For the hand I held and kissed, love, 
Was trembling with love for me, 

And a sudden rose-red mist, love, 
Rolled over the land and sea. 



84: LYBICS OF LIFE» 

Thro' the mist's red heart a light, love, 

Struck swift from the dawn-touched skies, 

But to me more sweet, more bright, love, 
Were the shadows of thine eyes. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. &5 

IV. 

ABSENCE. 

T STOOD in tlie night, and I envied the 
-*~ stars, 

For my love was away, and I stood all 
alone, 
Bnt the stars could shine on her, the glori- 
fied stars, 
And I hated them for it, as gayly they 
shone. 

Then the wind came, —the wind had blown soft 
by my love, 
_Had kissed her and fled from her, fled to 
tell me, — 
And I trembled with rage, but still from 
above 
Shone the stars, and the wind blew along 
to the sea. 



86 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



THE ENGAGEMENT RING. 

f^\ OLDEN little emblem 

Of a holy vow, 
Glitter, gleam, and sparkle 

In the sunlight now, 
Round her slender finger 

Clasp your tiny band, 
Why, you look so yellow 

On so white a hand. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 87 

Golden little prophet, 

Telling of the time 
When the moon of marriage 

Up the sky shall climb, 
When austere December, 

Clad in mail of rime, 
Shall with merry music 

Ring a wedding-chime. 

Yes, it means, my darling, 

We shall thro' the years 
Know our joys together, 

Mingle all our tears ; 
Joy will be more joyous 

That I am with thee, 
Sorrow lose its sadness 

That thou art with me. 



88 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Hold your dainty finger 

Where the ring may shine, 
I can scarce believe, love, 

You and it are mine ; 
Silent, and so happy, 

At your feet I kneel, 
. Clasp your hands in mine, love, 

Heart to heart reveal. 



LYRICS OF LIFE, 89 



VI. 

COURTSHIP DAYS. 

"TTTHEN leafy Spring with, grasses green 
The whole wide world doth cover, 
I whisper to my love, — "I ween 
No fairer days will e'er be seen 
For suit of happy lover." 

When golden Summer sits her throne, 

The flowers' fairy mother, 
My love and I walk all alone, — 
u Ah me, such days were never known," 
We say to one another. 



90 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

When pleasant Fall with winds from west 

Blows hazes thro' the weather, 
My love and I, with langh and jest, 
Are sure these days are far the best 
We ever spent together. 

When whistling Winter's horns do wind, 
And Summer streams are frozen, 
My love and I are of one mind, 
The very coldest days, we find, 

Are just for lovers chosen. 



LYRICS OF LIFEo 91 

VII. 
MARRIAGE-EVE. 

rTlHE light of your eyes, my darling, 
Is a beacon bright for me, 
As true as any light-house light 
That burns along the sea. 

The sound of your voice, my darling, 
Is sweet as that sweet strain 

That floated, the first Christmas-night, 
Above Judea's plain. 

And you unto me forever 

Shall be as that fixed star 

That guideth home all mariners 
From rolling seas afar. 



92 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



VIII. 
MARRIAGE MORNING. 

rpO-DAY, to-day, to-day, 
J - ring, sweet bells ! 

Ring, but you cannot voice my full-fledged 

joy. 
All night I watched to catch the first faint 
gray 
That in the east foretells 
Latona's boy. 

Orion, all too slow, 

With unsheathed sword 
Threaded the glittering mazes of his march ; 
The moon reluctant lingered, loth to go 
Across the starry ford 

From arch to arch. 






LYRICS OF LIFE. 93 

But, clothed with light and flame, 
Day leaped above, 
As a vast Victor who rebellion quells ; 
All space rang vibrant with my darling's 
name, 
For lo, her name is Love— 
O ring, sweet bells! 



94 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



EPILOGUE. 

r I 1HE light of morn was o'er the land, 
When graciously you gave your hand 

To me — ah, happy, happy day ! 

I knew you could not answer nay 
To such a loving, sweet demand. 

Fortune may dwindle or expand, 
Now frowning dark, now smiling bland, 
Yet in your eyes there shines alway 
The light of morn. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 95 

Betimes with grief or care unmanned, 
I come to you, and ne'er withstand 

Your smile, that brooks no dull delay — 
Ah, love, though we are growing gray, 
Still shines for us, on hill and strand, 
The light of morn. 



:efi©eg ©f Ikld. 



'®R©e;s o>\ Hkld. 



EXCALIBUR. 

r 1 1H0U art here, the Lord's Anointed, 

King of men and knight of heaven, 
To the trust thou art appointed, 

Unto thee the sword is given ; 
As a sign for thee, a token 

That the light again is breaking 
Thro 5 the gloom of time unspoken 

To the dawn and to the waking. 



100 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

"When the fields of heaven sounded 

With the roar and shout of battle. 
And the whirling spears rebounded 

From the shields with ring and rattle, 
This the sword that Michael wielded 

With a fire and strength supernal, 
Till the rebel hosts, unshielded, 

Fled from light to night eternal. 

"Strong as Michael shalt thou fight them, 

They that bow before the idols, 
And the blazing sword shall smite them 

From the horses and the bridles ; 
Yea, the heathen, stunned with terror, 

Shall behold the blade advancing, 
With the flame that burneth error 

From the hilt and jewels glancing,, 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 101 

"Lo, the weary world is weeping 

In the toil of her transgression 
For the justice that is sleeping, 

For the wrong and the oppression, 
For the nights that quake and quiver, 

For the days that dawn in thunder, 
For the years that shrink and shiver 

At the shame and at the wonder. 

" But the guilty shalt thou scatter, 

And the sword will bravely brighten 
As the standards sink and shatter, 

And the foeman's face shall whiten 
At the sound and at the glitter 

Of the brand above him flashing, 
Till the death-shriek, shrill and bitter, 

Drown the din of armor clashing. 



102 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

"So thy kingdom shall be founded, 

And "by justice thou shalt hold it, 
And its fame shall be unbounded 

As the wide seas that enfold it; 
And the harvest hailing hither 

Shall encamp on all the acres, 
And the noxious weeds shall wither 

As the sea-foam on the breakers. 

"Till the right grown wrong with surfeit 

Shall uprise and challenge proudly. 
Then the peace shall all be forfeit, 

And the trumpet-call sound loudly ; 
Then the sword shall rouse the thunder, 

And the echoes will awaken 
All along the sea, and under, 

Where the mermaid rides the kraken. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 103 

"For the cycle will be ended, 

And shall come the desolation, 
And the close shall be attended 

With a noise of devastation ; 
And the ruin will be utter, 

For the foe shall overmaster, 
And the royal flag shall flutter 

To defeat and to disaster. 

"When from out the nether regions, 

With a mighty thunder- rattle, 
Ride the clanging, shouting legions 

Of the storm and of the battle, 
Then the solemn doom shall follow, 

And the King shall bow before it; 
When the great sword striketh hollow, 

To the giver then restore it." 



104 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



SIR PALAMIDES. 



QIR PALAMIDES, Saracen, 

Right worshipful among the men 
Of Arthur's days, rode thro' the fen. 



Till, past the skirts of fen and wood, 
On lonely Humber's bank he stood, 
Grateful for that sad solitude. 

And looking, aimless, east and west, 
Bemoaned his love and beat his breast, 
And yearned to end his ceaseless quest. 

When up the stream in silence sped 
A royal barge, and huge and red 
Grinned at the prow a wyvern's head. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 105 

Red silk swept o'er the deck, and made 
A stately couch, whereon was laid 
The body of a King, arrayed 

In robes of state, and in the hand 

It held a scroll, and to the land 

The barge drave fast and keeled the sand. 

Sir Palamides leaped on deck, — 

" Alack!" quoth he, "a royal wreck!" 

And touched the crescent at his neck, 

Unrolled the scroll, and this it said — 
"Hermance, of the City Red, 
Father and King, here lieth dead. 

" Murdered by him he loved the best. 
Good knight, to set his soul at rest, 
Pray sail the river on his quest." 



106 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Then swore the knight, upon his knees, 
To sail the quest, and with the breeze 
He set the prow toward the seas. 

Adown long Humber swif t he sailed, 

Anon some castle-warder hailed, 

Or knight that rode full-armed and mailed. 

He sailed into the open sea, 

And still the wind blew fair and free. 

"I marvel at this quest," quoth he. 

But seaward yet the vessel bore, 

Until an island rose before, 

And straight the barge drave to the shore. 

People that watched there to him spake, — 
"Thou seekest Helius, for whose sake 
Our King's good heart did bleed and break. 



LYEICS OF LIFE. ]07 

"For lo, our King was kind and mild, 
But very old, nor blessed with child, 
Wherefore he sought this monster wild, 

"Made him as if he were his own; 

But he so longed to sit the throne 

He killed the King, and we made moan; 

"He and his knights then mocked and said,^ 
'Bring forth the royal barge of red 
And set it sailing with the dead.' 

"The which we did, but slipt within 

His hand the scroll that told the sin, 

And now, please God, the right shall win." 

'Yea," said the knight, "an' if God please:" 
Addressed himself, and cried,— "Let these 
Base knights come now; I take no ease 



108 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

" Until I lay them low in dust 
And hang their armor up to rust. 
God and the Prophet shield the just!" 

Then Helius and his knights were wroth, 

And seizing arms they hurtled forth 

As when the wind blows from the north. 

Many they were, and woful strong ; 

They fought the Saracen so long, 

It seemed that right would yield to wrong. 

The people watching made great dole, 
And wept with pity for his soul, 
And shades of night began to roll. 

Till, with a thrust clear thro' the head, 
The Saracen smote Helius dead ; 
And who were left in terror fled. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 109 

Uprose great shouts of joy, and all, 
With banners, marching from the wall 
Of the Red City, loud did call, 

And hail him King: whereat the knight 
Spake thus, — "That I have won the fight 
I praise God's grace, not mine own might. 

"But as for me — alas, I needs 
Must wander on among the weeds, 
That haply I may yet do deeds 

46 Of honor fair, and ease my heart, 
Wear out the pain, and dull the smart, 
Wherefore, good friends, I must depart." 

Then, stepping in a barget gray, 

Sir Palamides went his way, 

And sighed for Isolt, night and day. 



UQ LYRICS OF LIFE. 



MORGAIK 
I. 

THE QUESTING. 

/^VUT spake the King, — "My sister's hand 
I give to any in the land 

Who brings her back to me." 
And forth they rode in quest of her, 
Heart hot with hope, each plied the spur 
To win such high degree. 

By yellow fields of harvest-corn, 
Thro' cities old and weather-worn, 
Down road and winding lane, 



LYRICS OF LIFE. Ill 

By shallow ford and river-bridge, 
Along the rugged mountain-ridge, 
They rode the quest in vain. 

They rode, it seemed, across the world, 
They saw the flags of Summer furled, 

They felt the dead leaves fall ; 
The trees grew naked by the way, 
And from his ramparts, bleak and gray, 

They heard the Winter call. 

Once on a misty moorland waste 
They slackened in their headlong haste 

To bury one that fell ; 
Then on they went, but grew afraid 
To die and have no ghostly aid, 

Nor mass, nor passing bell. 



112 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

And from that day the frozen sun 
Ne'er dawned but that they lost some one 

Of their undaunted band; 
But still they never backward turned, 
And still the strong desire burned 

To win the Princess' hand- 
Till one alone was left to climb 
The weary way ; the biting rime 

Had dulled his armor bright ; 
At last his horse fell under him, 
Then, chanting low a lover's hymn, 

He perished in the night. 

The night wore on, and very soon 
Uprose the white and waning moon 
With her thin train of stars ; 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 113 

Withered she was, and very old, 
And all the stars were blue with cold, 
And shaken, as from wars. 

And when the winds of Summer blew 
Along the road, and flowers grew, 

And fell the Summer rain, 
They found them lying in the dust, 
Their armor rotted thro 5 with rust, — 

They rode the quest in vain. 

An errant minstrel wandered down 
To where, within the royal town, 

The King sat on his throne; 
Therewith he learned his knights were dead : 
u Let mass be sung for them," he said, 

"And carve their names in stone." 



114 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

But when the sister of the King 
Heard all the royal church-bells ring, 

And knew the knights were dead, 
She came from out her hiding-place 
And painted red her laughing face — 

"The news are good," she said. 



IL 



THE MARRIAGE. 

But still the royal church-bells rang, 
And still the monks their requiem sang, 

And over all the land 
A shadow fell as of despair, 
For none were left with heart to dare 

The quest of Morgain's hand. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 115 

But lo ! a murmur, growing loud, — 

A strange knight parts the curious crowd, 

His step is firm and free, 
Tho' he has journeyed from the land 
Whose yellow belt of shining sand 

Dips in the endless sea. 

"God grant," said he, "I be not late." 
He stopped before the palace-gate 

And wound his silvern horn ; 
The gates of Merlin opened wide, 
The church-bells ceased, and as a bride 

Uprose the ruddy morn. 

Forthwith he spake unto the King, — 
"My liege, let all your church-bells ring. 
And make a marriage-chime." 



116 ' LYRICS OF LIFE. 

With roses wreathed about her head 
The Princess came, and this she said, — 
"It is the foretold time." 

Even so he claimed the Princess' hand 
And broke the spell ; throughout the land 

Died down dark dismal fears ; 
And they that rode the fruitless quest 
Lay quiet in their graves, at rest, 

Mourned for with maidens' tears. 

But where they rode, that wedded twain, 
Thro' whirl of wind and rout of rain, 

Toward the endless sea — 
What quest was theirs? What woman's wile 
Lay lurking in the faint sweet smile 

That masked her reverie? 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 117 

They rode nnto their journey's end. 
The Lonely Land where meet and blend 

The sea-waves and the shore — 
He left her in her bridal-room 
Alone.— Night wove her garb of gloom, 

Earth shivered to the core. 

She watched — the moon, a very skull, 
Floated upon the sea-rim, dull 

The scant stars gleamed above ; 
Then Morgain laughed, then Morgain cried,— 
"O, dying moon! O, happy bride! 

To live, to laugh, to love!" 

III. 

THE BURIAL. 

Time lied — he heard the Princess say, — 



118 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

"O knight of mine, the weary way 

Is passed, the path is straight, 
Lo, thou art mine, and I am fair, 
Live, laugh, and love, nor wile nor snare 
Can keep one from his fate." 

Whereat he fled in shame and fear, 
But always did he think to hear 

Her voice, and see her face, 
And feel her red lips kiss and cling, 
Till world and sky did reel and ring 

With memory of her grace. 

Nathless he came to her again — 
She said,— u Be thou the lord of men, 
Yet shall thy proud heart bend ; 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 119 

With weak white hands I hold thee mine, 
Thy thread of life shall twist and twine 
With mine unto the end." 

Shamefaced and hot, he held her fast, 
Cried,— " Fling the future to the past ! 

Thy eyes burn fiercely bright." 
Soft blew the summer wind along, 
A fieldfare trilled his evening song, 

And day lay wound with night. 

So Morgain wrought a pure knight' s fate ; 
Upon him full the heavy weight 

Of sins and sorrows done : 
She watched him, ever at her side, 
Wax wan and worn and hollow-eyed, 

She whispered, — "I have won." 



120 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

But lo, she clutched him in the night — 
With bloodless lace, and lips all white, 

She cried, — "My time is fled! 
Hark ! they that rode the fruitless quest 
Are riding now!" — and on his breast, 

Shrieking, she fell — struck dead. 

Thereafter came the royal hearse, 

But none would bless; a muttered curse 

Greeted the funeral-day ; 
The moon uprist, so white and lean 
That scarce her shadow could be seen 

Across the graveyard-way. 

By the green grave he stood, and said, — 
"O Death, with Love corruption spread, 
For nothing lies before." 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 121 

Even as he spake the earth grew gray, 
The endless sea stretched far away 
In quest of unknown shore. 



122 LYKICS OF LIFE, 



SIR BORIS. 

A S DANK a night as ever man had seen 
On field and town and sullen sea -coast 

The waning moon, maligned with mist, looked 
green, 

The ship-lights flickered feebly from the 
bay, 

And all was still, save where, with head 
aslant, 

The white owl croaked his melancholy 
chant. 



LYBICS OF LIFE. 123 

It was a night when fairies hied them home, 
Their kirtles wet, and clinging at the 
knee, 

And eerie elves from caverns forth did roam 

With one-eyed dwarfs who kept them 
company, 

If haply they might meet with some poor 
wight 

And fill his head with visions of the night. 

Townward Sir Boris held his joyful way, 

The mist hung on his hair, his eyes were 
wet, 

And, as he passed along, one heard him say, 

As in a dream,— "My little Margaret;"— 

And on his finger shone a single gem 

Rarer than aught in the King's diadem. 



124 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Onward he pressed, hard by the town he 
came, 
When suddenly a low, sweet, clear voice 
cried, — • 
"Sir Boris!" — Marvelling thus to hear his 
name, 
The knight reined horse, and, standing 

at his side, 
Beheld a fair young girl, with naked feet, 
And long hair golden as Sicilian wheat. 

She stood as in a hollow of the mist 

That curled away and from her breathing 
shrank ; 
Her eyes, more violet than the amethyst, 

Shot lovely light; adown o'er breast and 

flank 
Streamed the remorseless mantle of her hair, 
But left her arms uplifted, white and bare. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 1^5 

Elsewhere the mist was heavy, fold on fold 
It wrapped around the owlets in their 
nest ; 
Sir Boris shivered, smitten with the cold, 
Wherefore the maiden clasped him to her 

breast, 
And, grateful for the warmth, he closed 

his eyes, 
While soft she sang to him of Paradise. 

She watched his sleep with eyes intent and 

glad, 
And from his finger drew the precious 

stone ; 
Sir Boris started, and as one gone mad 

Ran for the town — but, nevermore alone, 
Behind him danced the maiden, and did 

sing,— 
"See how the mists to Mistress Moon do 

cling. 55 

* ¥i % * tt * -* 



126 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Meantime fair Margaret slept, and in a dream 

Dreamed of her knight and how he won 
the gem, 
When suddenly through that sweet sleep a 
scream 

Kang, and a strong voice loudly shrieked 
her name ; 

"Surely," she said, "it was a dream," and 
yet 

Again the voice, now faint, cried, " Marga- 
ret ! " 

And all was hushed— arisen from her bed 
In chaste, cold fear, that shook her like a 
bride, 
She crossed the room with swift, uncertain 
tread, 
And flung the lattice-window open wide — 
Only the mist she saw, that seemed to 

writhe 
In sickly serpent shapes, alert and lithe. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 127 

Nor of that night could any watcher say 
If from the coast a girl sang or a bell 

Tolled for a good man's soul — if from the bay 
The ship-lights flickered or the flames of 

hell- 
But nevermore on night or fine or wet 
Hastened Sir Boris to his Margaret. 



128 LYRICS OF LIFE. 



BALLAD OF SIR LAUNCELOT. 

""DIDING the quest f the Grail alone, 

Guinevere, Guinevere, pity me ! 
All thro' the day and the night I moan, 

Yearning to catch but a glimpse of thee. 
Tho' I make halt by the wan west sea, 

Seeking a sign in the high God's name, 
Lo, as I tremble and bow the knee, 

Gleameth thy face with the eyes aflame! 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 129 

" Me have I scourged till the blood hath flown, 

Weeping hot tears of misery ; 
Still thro 5 the day and the night I moan, 

Yearning to catch but a glimpse of thee. — 
Yea, have I striven and sought to flee, 

Ever and ever the same — the same — 
Blinding my soul with sweet rarity, 

Grleameth thy face with the eyes aflame ! 

u Sleeping, I dreamed that the Grail was shown, 

Marvellous bright with clemency ; 
Waking, I lay on the chancel-stone — 

Ah, but I yearned for the touch of thee ! — 
Tho' I may bow and make piteous plea 

Unto the Christ and our Holy Dame, 
Sweeter by far than all visions be, 

Gleameth thy face with the eyes aflame.' ' 



130 LYEICS OF LIFE. 

ENVOY. 

Guinevere maketh a day of glee, — 

" Who is it cometh. to join onr game?"- 

"Launcelot rideth with bridle free, 

Grleameth thy face with the eyes aflame !" 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 131 



ISOLT AT THE TOMB OF TRISTRAM. 

"~1 FERE, with my arms curled round the 
sacred cross 
That in white warning stands above his 

bones, 
I crouch, with hot limbs pressed against 
the stones, 
And moan his name, and wail and weep his 
loss. 

" Stand back, good sirs — ye shall not drag 
me hence ; 

But, pray ye, keep between me and King 

Mark ; 
My husband? yes — God pity me — but 
hark, 

Surely ye know not his most foul offence. 



132 LYEICS OF LIFE. 

" Yet know ye how he came, that rainy day, 
When Tristram played the harp to me, 

to keep 
The hours in joyance. — Ah, sirs, could ye 
sleep, 
And in a dream but hear Sir Tristram play— 

"How like the tinkle of a silver bell 

The sweet notes from his cunning fingers 

tripped, 
In airy melody that softly slipped 
Into the heart, with sunny stir and swell. — 

"In very heaven of joy I heard him play, 
And saw his eyes with love grow master- 
ful ; 
When, at a sudden, stealthy, noiseless pull, 

The curtains parted and for Mark made way. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 133 

"I felt my lips were frozen in a smile, 

And with that fixed smile I watched 

King Mark 
Drive his sharp glaive thro' Tristram's 
throat, till stark 
My Tristram lay — and I said nanght the while, 

" Until that man came to me — half in fear, 
I wot — whereat I shrieked, and in a swoon 
Fell down, and knew no more until the 
moon 

Rose yesternight, and then I hurried here. 

"Now shall Mark come to judge me? — he? — 

who knew 

All of my Tristram's love from first to last. 

And knowing how that love would bind 

him fast 

Made use of him to keep his kingdom true. 



134: LYKICS OF LIFE. 

"Has any man who profits by a sin, 
In ways direct or indirect, a right 
To sit as judge of what is black or white, 

Or join his voice to the accusing din? 

" O, I can say no more ! — do what ye will ! 

My heart grows sick above my Tristram's 
tomb — 

O loyal love, how fares it in the gloom \ 
Dost hear my voice % hath it the old-time thrill % 

"Rest, rest, my love — I grow so weak and 
faint, 
Thou shalt not wait me long. O blessed 

hour! 
When from the gate of heaven's portal- 
tower 
Thou wilt rush forth to still my cold complaint." 






A 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 135 

THE DEATH OF GUINEVERE. 

T ALMESBURY the lights are low— 
With muffled step the Sisters go, 
And come, and go, in tears, for lo, 

With crucifix held o'er her head, 
The Abbess-Queen lies on her bed, 
Soon to be gathered with the dead. 

They deem her holy; she hath taught 
How hope may come and faith be bought 
But now she thinks — and this the thought : 



l o a 



"To die. O God! what breadth of doom 
Awaits me in the ghostly gloom 
That stretcheth out beyond the tomb? 



136 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

"To die — to die — to go where I 
May meet with Arthur passing by? 
I cannot die — I cannot die! 

"I whisper to myself his name, 

I count the years, I count the shame, 

And feel the torture of the flame. 

" I loved him not, yet well I know 
I took his life — and deep and slow 
I wrought the wound, I dealt the blow. 

"I know not where his body lies— 
I dare not meet his clear, large eyes, 
Bright with the light of Paradise. 

" Why, they would cut me thro' and thro' 
Like yonder star, that from the blue 
Dissevers this clear drop of dew. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 137 

a O Christ! a little time, I pray, 
Yet let me live — perchance some day 
I may not fear to tread the way. 

" Cease, cease, vain prayer — I am grown old. 
The thin white hair that once was gold, 
The sunken cheeks, half -gray, half-cold, 

"The shrivelled breast, the sightless eye, 
All wan and worn — they mutely cry, — 
"Tis time to die ! 'tis time to die! 5 

" O, I am old and changed ! and what 

If I should meet with Launcelot 

And he should pass and know me not? 

" Methinks my heart would throb and swell 

Until it broke again — ah well, 

'Twould make of heaven a twofold hell. 



138 LYBICS OF LIFE. 

"To think that we two souls had met 
And he had passed, with quiet face set 
Away from me, so old — and yet 

"It was not love for him I felt; 

No love in me hath ever dwelt 

Save love of self. Why, I have knelt 

"And prayed to God for grace for me. 
Have moaned and prayed for strength to see 
Some hope in gray eternity. 

"And in my prayer no name has mixt 
With mine, lest it should come betwixt 
My thoughts and God's, and leave unfixt 

"The grace for which I prayed; and now 
The death-damp gathers on my brow, 
But to God's will I cannot bow. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 139 

"O, I would live! I dread this death, 
This sudden sinking of the breath, 
With all tho mystery beneath; 

"With all the fear beyond the pain, 
With all the mist beyond the rain — 
O God! O Christ! I would remain!" 

She lieth dead — the church-bells toll — 
Fair Father Christ, receive her soul 
And make the broken image whole. i 



:t@fim<2ts. 



OASSIUS. 

TjpRECT! — with, strained nerves list'ning to 
the blare 
Of Caesar's trumpets— from his strong 

grasp slips 
A world of empire — brow, and chin, and 
lips 
Knit in a grim half-frown, half-sneer — despair 



144 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Pants in his breath. Above the trodden plain 
The golden eagles leer and onward press ; 
As one that seeketh freedom from duress 

His bloodshot eyes roll right and left, in 
vain, 

But with a somber joy grow fixed to greet 
The dinted steel, dull red with battle- 
rust, 
And, at the bidding of the warrior's 
thrust, 
Light, Night, and Death on swart Philippi 
meet. 






LYEICS OF LIFE. 145 



A KAINY DAY IN TOWN. 

r)AIN, rain, and rain ! all day the ceaseless 
patter 
Makes the streets moist and dim— the 

dampened smoke 
Hangs in the air — the buildings reek and 
soak — 
Bedraggled horses trot with splash and clat- 
ter — 
The wet pedestrians tread a yellow batter 

Out of the mud — old women cough and 

choke — 
Young women with umbrellas push and 
poke, 



146 LYKICS OF LIFE. 

And wretched fog makes worse the dismal 

matter. 
So down a dirty tide the dull day floats 
Till evening with no friendly hand spreads 

out 
A shivering darkness — work-girls hurry 

by 

With poor thin shawls pinned tight about 

their throats — 
The street-lamps blearing thro' the rainy 

rout, 
Each like a winking, sickly evil-eye. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 147 



THE SENTINEL. 

rFlHE midnight moon behind the forest 
trees 
Slow-moving, cowled in fleecy mist and 
cloud, 
The poplars rustled by the passing breeze, 
The sleepless spiders spinning shroud on 
shroud. 

The frowning turrets and the arch of stone, 
The great gate barred, with massive bolt 
across, 

The upraised drawbridge, and the sullen moan 
Of sluggish waters in the open fosse. 



148 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

A gleam of light — and, on his lonely round, 
With lantern at his belt, and levied spear, 

Whistling a summons to his laggard hound, 
With stride and strut goes by the hal- 
berdier. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 149 

ORPHEUS. 

A LEVEL stretch of turnpike, winding 
round 
Thro' pasturelands and fields of waving 

grain 
Fresh-blown with perfume of the April 
rain — 
A little grove — and, stretched upon the ground, 

A way-worn tinker, lolling at his ease 

Beneath an elm, and trolling out his song — 

s 

An old romaunt — in mellow voice, and 
strong, 
While thrush and blackbird, flitting from the 
trees, 



150 LYEICS OF LIFE. 

Perch on his head, and chatter round his 
feet, 
And feast on crumbs from out his friendly- 
hand, 
And sing in rivalry, till thro 5 the land 
The chorus swells, melodiously sweet. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 151 

L'ENFANT TERRIBLE. 

A RUINED keep, with rusty gate 
Creaking below a broken arch, 

The forest heavy with the weight 

Of rugged pine and clustered larch. 

A shout ! a leap ! and mounted on 

The wind-blown gate, with white head 
bare, 

An urchin sits, and whoops anon 

Till frolic echoes shake the air. 

With swinging legs he madly rides, 

Both hands above his head held fast ; 

The huge red sun behind him slides 

And shapes a shadow long and vast. 



jre>r$0n®\ (^)ribu\e>g. 






TO CLARA MORRIS. 

(After eeeing "Alixe.") 

IjTRESH as the winds of morn upon the sea, 
Fair as the first red rose of joyous June, 
Pure as a white cloud blown across the 
moon 



When summer nights glow soft on hill and lea — 



156 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

How shall I fitly yield my praise to thee? 

For thine the subtle charm no rhyme or 

rune 
Can shadow forth, nor music set to tune ; 
Lo, thou beyond all reach of art dost flee ; 
With silver chime of happy girlish mirth, 

With lambent virgin eyes that open up 
To Love, as violets to the winter sun— 
And O, when comes the cruel curse of earth 
Thy firm young lips drain dry the bitter 

cup — 
Yes, blood of martyrs in thy veins doth 
run. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 157 



TO ALFRED TENNYSON. 

f~\ THOU that wear' st so well the poet's 
wreath, 
Behold thy songs flown hither o'er the 

seas 
To make unto our souls sweet melodies, 
To show the truth and love that lie beneath 
All things— men's hearts, or brambles of the 
heath, 
Or rolling stars, or dim immensities— 
The spirit of thy song strikes light from 
these, 
A sword of flame drawn from a starry sheath. 



158 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

And when the deepening shadows shall have 
rolled 
O'er this onr age, on dusty winds upborne, 
Still shall men speak of thee with loving 
stress ; 
Tho' many sounds be hushed in that gray fold, 
Still thro' the years shall wind the silver 

horn 
Blown from the sea-girt walls of Lyonesse. 



LYBICS OF LIFE. 159 



TO ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE. 

ORD of the lyre ! of languaged lightning 
lord I 
Master of matchless, melting melody ! 
Phosphor of Freedom! foe of falsity! 
Smiter of sin with song's swift, sleepless 

sword ! — 
Lo, tyrants tremble as they turn toward 

Thee, pearled and panoplied in poesy, 
Winged for the warfield, waiting wistfully 
Thy ripe Republic of all rights restored. 



160 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Not vain thy voice ! lo, vague and vilified, 

Divine Democracy draws near, discerned 
Of hinds and heroes, halting yet, half- 
turned 
To watch this West, whence, wonderful and 
wide, 
Plashes the flame of Freedom's firmament, 
Crowning our crownless, kingless conti- 
nent 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 161 



TO FRANK MAYO. 

~^\EAR friend and brother— brother by more 
than blood, 
By the close ties of mind, the bonds of 

soul, 
Whereby we know us atoms of one whole, 
Twin drops in the immeasurable flood; 
In thee I love to watch the blossoming bud 

Of thought, that, slow of growth as bed- 
ded coal, 
Developed points to truth's far-flaming 
goal 
And shows to others the way from mire and 
mud. 



162 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Not for thy matchless, masterful player's art, 
With which thou mak'st me laugh or 

weep at will, 
Do I my full affection render thee ; 
Nay, rather for thy loyal, noble heart, 

Thy brave, true manhood, that among us 

still 
Keeps fresh the flower and fruit of chiv- 
alry. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 163 



TO WILLIAM YOUNG. 

"OELOVED comrade in the gracious art 

Of rhyme and song, what shall I say to 

thee? 
Save as some brooklet, purling nigh the 
sea, 
Sings to the sea in wonder-stricken start : 
"O, vast and strong! O, passionate of heart! 
That hast the knowledge of much mys- 
tery ! 
Thou suiferest for thy very majesty. 
In that forever thou must dwell apart. 



164 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Yet in thy loneliness is compensation, 

For thou art filled with limitless, sweet 

light, 
And in thy storms lurk poignant ecstacies ; 
Up to the sun life-giving exhalation 

Thou flingest, and the amorous moon at 

night 
Disturbs thy breast with ardent vagaries." 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 165 



TO E. B. 

/~\ FAIR it is to see some mighty oak 

Lording the forest with his great green 

crown, 
And fair to see, above the clustered town, 
The towered fort that shields from foreign yoke ; 
But fairer yet, creation's masterstroke, 

A strong, brave man, who scorns the fret 

and frown 
Of Fortune -one who looks not back nor 
down 
But stands high-hearted, firm amid his folk. 



166 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

A type of our great race, persistent, loyal, 

Ready to dare and do in Right's defence, 
Or bear such work-day toil as heroes can ; 

In loving, steadfast ; and in giving, royal — 

Even so, my friend, in thee I reverence 
A stalwart, sovereign, self-swayed, Saxon 
man. 



!|)6e i^amaia xQu&si. 



jpfie; r)ucn<B,n vS^MGst- 



t 



PRELUDE 



TTTHO may find 
What the wind 

Bloweth down the hollow ? 
Who may hear 
Words of cheer 

Sunless silence follow? 



Who can say 
How To-day 

Shall become To-morrow? 



170 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Who can say 
Yesterday 

Did not die in sorrow? 

Who can tell 
When the knell 

Shall be ringing for him? 
Who would dream 
With the gleam 

Of unknown stars o'er him ? 

Round and round, 
Void of sound, 

Floats the Holy Vision — 
Floats, departs, 
And our hearts 

Find alone derision. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 171 

I. 

DESPAIR. 
TjlULL many a time the poet strikes his 
lyre 
To hear therefrom no sweet, responsive 

thrill ; 
Often the painter, toiling, fails to fill 
The parted lips with life, the eyes with fire ; 
Days come too when the sculptor's strong 
hands tire 
Because they may not work his marble 

will — 
Yea, all men know the hour when hope 
lies still 
And the sad soul aches with a dumb desire. 



172 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Wan moments ! — then the gray marge of the 

world 
Dips to an utter emptiness, where all 
Lies hid beneath the impenetrable pall ; 
Man and his earth but helpless nothings, 

hurled 
By luckless chance along an aimless 

path, 
Too small for power and too weak for 

wrath. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 173 



II. 

AFAR! 

A FAR, afar, the shining hill-tops rise ; 
So far the stars at dawn sink into them 
And leave the round moon lonely on 
the hem 
Of night that fades — ah, ye with straining eyes 
And eager hands, wherefore in any wise 

Can ye have hope to climb aloft and 

stem 
The rush of streams that flow but to 
condemn ? 
So far, so far, the hill-tops fret the skies. 



174 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

And eyes wax dim with searching for the way, 
Strong hands grow weak from vain 
desire and prayer, 
The ruddy gold of youth turns ashen-gray 

But still goes on the never ending quest, 
Even as the winjd that moves the upper 

air 
Blows ever from the regions of the west. 



LYBICS OF LIFE. 175 

III. 

IMPERFECTION. 

HTlHEEE came a sudden brightness in the 
night, 
Above the world uprose an awful flame 
That hid within its heart the secret 
name; 
Before all men it leaped from height to height ! 
A clear voice broke the stillness of affright, 
Saying: "The perfect one devoid of 

blame 
Shall read the scroll within this fiery 
frame, 
And God be plainly known as noon-tide 
light." 



176 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Then all men watched the flame with eager 
eyes 

And souls beat at the eyeballs follow- 
ing it 

As birds wear out their wings against 
the bars; 
But, lo, the hours sped on, and thro' the skies 

The white flame passed and left the 
world unlit 

Save for the far dim light of distant 
stars. 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 177 

IV. 
IF. 

that white light should shine from very 



r 

far 



And show Grod's face all wet with 

piteous tears, 
And men should look thereon and lose 
their fears, 
And faith grow strong, and clear as yonder 

star— 
What then 'twixt God and man could be a bar? 
What sharp unrest make sad the rapid 

years? 
As they are made to him who sees and 
hears 
15ut frail faint phantoms of the things thai are. 



178 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

In truth, tho' man should see his very God, 
His soul would suffer that the last were 

known ; 
And he, found powerless as any thrall, 
Would still curse laws that bound him to 

this sod 
With wit and will to scale the utmost 

throne, 
But with no strength or power to more 

than crawL 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 179 

V. 
DISCONTENT. 

Q1AITH Atlas: " On me rest the pillars of 

heaven, 

Always I bend beneath the weary load, 

Always I tread the endless, circling road 

That runs from night to noon, from noon to 

even — 
But in my blood still glows the living leaven 
That filled me when from peak to peak 

I strode, 
Rocks in my hands, straight up to Gods 
abode 



And waged a war that left His mountains riven. 



180 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

So terrible a battle-blast did blow 

All Heaven reeled and leaned toward 

outer space ; 
Then lightnings flashed from the omnip- 
otent face 
And with a sign He set me here below." 

Is this the prop to uphold a firmament, 
Broad-backed defeat and sinewy discon- 
tent? 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 181 



VL 
A DREAM. 

/~\NE night it grew so still upon the earth 

That I could hear the planets on their 
march, 

Lo, suddenly the sombre midnight arch 
Transparent grew through all its mighty girth — 
Ah, then the giant splendor was beholden 

Of God's domain; all glorious stars were 
seen 

Parts of one august whole; a light serene 
Shone from the deeps most luminously golden. 



182 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Swiftly and sweetly that great light increased, 
I whispered: "God is coming from on 

high!"— 
But as I spake the light was shut away ; 
And from the darkened, dreamy, violet east, 
With brandished spears uplifted to the 

sky, 
Came forth the golden heralds of the day. 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 183 

VII. 
HOPE. 

/~\ FAINT of heart take courage ! — all is 
dark, 
Yet all is light — we know not but we feel ! 
We cannot see where whirls the central 
wheel 
And yet the ever-moving stars we mark. 
O Hope sublime ! thou art a very ark 

Wherein to rest, to dream, perchance to 

kneel, 
And in sweet visions see the sights that 
heal 
And hear the sounds — all senses crying : 
"Hark!" 



184 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Yea, visible law and love from while to while 
Smite this far orb with their unerring rod, 
On Saint Helena shone no august smile, 

Earth's slayer crumbled into earth's own 
sod ; 
But he of Patmos from his barren isle 

Saw things to blind one— yea, and talked 
with God, 



LYKICS OF LIFE. 185 



VIII. 

AD ASTRA. 

1. 
/~\ DOUBT that runs thro' every mood ! 
O hope that comes to souls who brood ! 
O tender, sad disquietude! 

Shall peace at any time be found, 
Or knowledge make a perfect round 
Where now is neither sight nor sound i 



*■&* 



Men ask in vain of creeds and schools. 
The holy fire of vision cools, 
Quenched in their unrelenting rules. 



1S6 LYKICS OF LIFE. 

They say: " His laws are not our laws, 

He doeth naught without a cause, 

Where reason stops we cry you 'pause!'" 

But leaf and bud and sea and star 
Call out from near, call out from far, — 
" Behold, in reason all things are!" 

In reason, law, that governs all, 
That makes the ripened apple fall, 
Or whirls a planet like a hall. 

2. 

Behold the grand similitude 

That human knowledge, yet so crude, 

Finds, marvellous and many-hued. 

The unity that swells and rings 
To harmony, wherein God sings 
The oneness of existing things. 



lykics OF LIFE. 187 

Where'er the lines of truth expand 
We find the same all-shaping hand 
Strong with the same divine command. 

The law that makes the red ant creep, 
Or little chirping crickets leap, 
Rolls stars along the midnight deep. 

The light that shines from yonder sphere 
Is one with that which flickers here 
From candle set at font or bier. 

The foam at dawn that flecks the main, 
The flowers that gem the summer plain. 
The rainbow poised 'twixt sky and rain. 

With the same seven colors glow, 
The seven hues that blend and show 
The perfect whiteness of the snow. 



188 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Worlds roll round suns, and they in turn 
Roll round some mightier orbs, that burn 
In vaster space than we discern. 

Far reaching laws ! from sward to sky 
Embracing all things, low and high, 
In wide, sublime analogy. 

3 

O in this unity of all 

As one must be the things we call 

Material and spiritual. 

No false division-wall would rise 

If one could look with flesh-free eyes 

Thro 5 all these somber mysteries. 

The universe but thought made clear — 
Soul-flesh, flesh-soul twin truths appear- 
But, ah, thro' silence thrills the fear, 



LYRICS OF LIFE. 189 

The fear we only half resist 
That all is but a dream, a mist, 
A fancy of the egotist. 

4 

Must we forever be half -blind ? 

Shall we forever fail to find 

The answer?— Nay, human mind, 

Courage ! — thy path is upward ! lo, 
On loftiest peaks abides the snow 
And loftiest flights are cold and slow. 

But haply now the day is nigh 
When every orb that rolls on high 
Shall smile a message from the sky ; 

When, to the august strains that roll 
From sea to sea, from pole to pole, — 
All sound in one great hymn made whole — 



190 LYRICS OF LIFE. 

Some mighty soul shall wave a wand, 
And, piercing thro' the starry frond, 
Reveal the Unknown Gfod beyond. 



THE END. 



